Displacement
by Mini Boss Majoring
Summary: Severa, Inigo, and Owain return home after the events of Fire Emblem Fates. But, it's not when they expected.


Displacement

"Gods, this is embarrassing," Severa muttered to herself. Next to her, Azura seemed to want to say something but passed on the opportunity. Instead, someone else did.

"It's adorable… in the way children come home with dirt on the knees of their pants," Camilla said. "Although I hope they don't talk like that once we reach the capital."

Ahead of them, Owain and Inigo continued to laugh hysterically. Soleil was also laughing, but she was aware of her mother's gaze and was trying to stifle it. Ophelia and Shigure looked more confused than anything as they missed the joke entirely.

The travelling party was on their way back to Ylisse. For Azura, Camilla, Soleil, Ophelia, and Shigure, it was a new adventure. For the remaining three, it was like coming home after a long day. In an attempt to inform their families about their past, Owain and Inigo had starting telling them about the journey Chrom and company had started. But when Gregor was introduced the two had instead switched to telling some of his more inappropriate jokes.

Aside from Soleil, the women were not amused. "O Husband of mine, don't you think you shouldn't scare the children with such… talk?" Camilla said.

Owain had a confident smile on his face as he answered. "Fear not, my lady of the night! The cursed blood which runs through these veins may be tainted, but it will never yield!" he said.

That was something Ophelia did understand and she joined her father in a speech that Severa guessed meant something. They did stop repeating Gregor's jokes, at least.

"Selen—sorry," Azura said quietly. "Severa, did you say it was three years since you had been home?"

"About," Severa said, refusing to make eye contact. Though she was excited to return home and see her parents—even if they weren't her real parents, they were close enough and Severa had missed them more everyday—she was also scared. What if now that the Severa from this timeline was born, they didn't want her around anymore? She bitterly remembered how she had treated them during the war against Grima.

Inigo took that as his chance to interject. "Come on, Ylisse is in sight. We could make it there in a few more hours," he said. "I can only imagine the look on Father's face when he sees us. Where once he had one grandchild, he's going to have three."

"You realize my mother is going to be the one who'll overreact?" Owain said. "This is new for her."

Severa let out a small snort. "I'm sure Chrom and Lissa will be absolutely unfazed. You make it sound as though they're unprepared for anything," she said.

Camilla frowned. "Why do you say Chrom and Lissa will be concerned? Isn't Chrom your king, so to speak?" she said. "You aren't runaway knights, aren't you?"

Severa could feel the air chill around them and she was partly responsible as she sent her childhood friends a withering glare. "Oh. Gods. You didn't," she said.

"I was sure it came up at one point…" Inigo said, scratching the back of his head. Severa wanted to scream. Instead she picked up the pace, leaving the two men to answer their wives.

"You three, come with me," Severa said to her godchildren. "Let's leave your dads to sort that mess out." The three of them didn't hesitate, although Soleil might have given her father a pitying look.

"Godmother of Heroes, does this have to do with my proof as a Chosen One?" Ophelia said, covering up her arm with one hand. Severa knew she was hiding her Exalt's brand. Now that she thought about it, it would probably be a bad thing if they strolled through Ylisse with five people that had the brand.

"Yeah. About those…" Severa said.

DISPLACEMENT

"It's so lovely," Camilla cooed as she took in the capital. After covering up the children's brands and leaving Camilla's wyvern at a stable outside the gates, the eight travelers had entered the city proper. It had grown considerably since they had left. Severa barely recognized the streets, and none of the shops or homes stuck out from her memory. She supposed Chrom was good at more than just breaking training dummies. Or at least, he had help from his best friend.

"It reminds me a little of Hoshido. Is it always this sunny?" Azura said.

"More or less. Plegia has lots of desert and Ferox to the north is pretty cold. Ylisse is just blessed," Inigo said. Severa glanced to gauge Camilla's expression, more out of reflex than anything, and she thought she saw a brief look of sympathy when Inigo mentioned Plegia. And for the first time, Severa felt sympathy for the Plegians. After three years of life in Nohr, she had a good idea of how difficult it had to be to grow anything there.

When they arrived at the palace gates, the guards looked confused for a moment before Inigo rolled up his sleeve and flashed his Brand. Neither guard dared question him or his group as they strolled in. Inside, servants bowed to Inigo but didn't greet him beyond that. "We haven't been gone that long," Inigo said. "I mean, I thought I might recognize one or two people."

"Three years is a long time to be away," Azura said. Inigo smiled and kissed her on the cheek, causing the songstress to blush. At least the layout of the palace hadn't changed, and Inigo led them towards the courtyard.

And then a familiar blue head came into sight. She still looked the same, though it appeared somebody had finally convinced her to put aside Falchion for the day. Inigo smiled warmly as he spread his arms and approached his sister. "Luce, it's been too long. You look like you haven't aged a day," he said.

Lucina shrieked and darted away faster than any of them could react.

Inigo blinked, dumbfounded. Severa got a bad feeling in her gut, the type she had relied upon in nightmares past to recognize danger. Something was wrong. Even the newcomers to Ylisse could feel it.

"Hold it right there!" a voice bellowed. A knight raced to intercept them, moving quickly despite his heavy armor. Severa had no idea who he was, only that he was ready to fight each of them. This was quickly turning into a disaster. "In the name of the—wait a moment, is that you Prince Inigo?"

Inigo leaned forward and squinted at the knight before his eyes bulged. "Frederick?" he said, voice going up an octave. Severa felt her own jaw nearly fall open as Inigo's declaration put Frederick's identity into perspective. It was indeed Chrom's dedicated knight and commander.

But he was older than he should have been. Quite older.

Severa could definitely see Frederick's features now that she knew who he was. But he definitely aged. His hair was still the same dark brown, but his face was more weathered and set in that way implied years. The feeling in her gut didn't disappear as Frederick lowered his lance, but tightened uncomfortably.

"Prince Inigo," Frederick said, evidently as at a loss for words as they were. "I, forgive me, Your Highness. I didn't… when did you return?"

"Frederick? What's going on? I heard Lucille scream," a familiar voice called. Someone stepped around the corner, and Severa recognized Lucina again, this time by the Falchion at her side. Like Frederick, she too had aged.

While Lucina had been a year or two older than Severa, she was now a grown woman well past Severa in age. She had matured and become more beautiful, blessed by Ylisse's prosperity since Grima's death. It was definitely Severa's friend this time they saw, but she wasn't at the same time.

Lucina froze when she took in the group. Then she launched her arms around Inigo and squeezed tightly. "Brother! I thought you were dead!" she said. Still stunned, Inigo could barely return the embrace.

"Luce? What happened?" Inigo said, smile slipping from his face. He let go of his sister and looked her in the eye. "We were gone three years."

"Only three? Inigo, you've been absent for nearly twenty years," Lucina said.

The knot in Severa's stomach twisted further until it hurt. Three years had felt terribly long, but twenty? She was going to spit on Anakos's corpse if she ever crossed by it again. That was twenty years she had lost. Twenty years in which almost all of her friends grew up without her. Twenty years that she wouldn't get to spend with her…

Severa couldn't finish the thought, feeling ill. She was pulled from her thoughts regardless when Lucina caught her in a hug as well. "Severa, it's so good to see you again," Lucina said, relief and joy evident in her voice.

"I missed you too," Severa said quietly. Inwardly, she asked how they could still be friends. Lucina had practically lived twice as long now. She had duties, responsibilities, and other experiences that Severa couldn't assist or be partial to. Not to mention that Lucina had a family to begin with. Everything Severa had been hoping to return to, her reward for doing good, was crumbling in front of her.

"You've gotten older, sister," Inigo said, a small smile fighting its way onto his face. "Now you definitely have to be the one to squash bugs."

Lucina tilted her head, Inigo's joke going straight over her head. It was somewhat comforting for Severa to see. At least some things were still the same. "I'm not sure I understand," Lucina admitted, "but I'm glad to have you returned."

"As am I," Chrom said from across the hall, striding towards them with a big grin on his face. The Exalt of Ylisse had aged as well, but there was something strangely familiar about it Severa couldn't place, even as his age signaled something was off about her home.

Walking alongside Chrom was his best friend and tactician of Ylisse, Robin. Curiously, Robin didn't look as old as Severa expected. It was as though he had aged less than everyone else. She briefly wondered if it was because of Grima before her eyes caught a third person hiding behind Chrom.

It was the younger version of Lucina that Inigo had scared. With a start, Severa realized she had to be the version of Lucina that was born here. If this version of Lucina was that old already, then… Severa felt sick inside. She didn't pay attention to the others as Chrom greeted his son and was introduced to Inigo and Owain's families. Because if twenty years had really passed while they were gone, Severa didn't belong here anymore.

It wasn't until Soleil nudged her that Severa tuned back in. She waved away Soleil's quiet question to how she was feeling and put on a scowl, trying to hide the dread building up inside her. Chrom, at least, seemed to take everything in stride. Considering he had two time traveling children and his son-in-law was a reincarnated body for Grima, nothing seemed to faze the Exalt anymore.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Chrom said. "And while this probably wasn't the ideal way for us to all meet, I wouldn't take it back for the world."

Azura smiled, more a formality than pleasantry, in response to Chrom's words. Inigo put an arm around his wife to reassure her as Chrom's attention was pulled to the three children before him. Both Ophelia and Shigure were eager to learn about the man they'd only heard about. Camilla, who had been a little tense before, relaxed and introduced herself to Lucina. Soleil was trying to coax her aunt, Lucille, from behind Chrom's cape.

Robin looked like he had his thinking expression on. "I'm sure it makes for a better story over dinner," Robin said, "but what were you guys up to in the meantime? Three years is a while for a trip."

His comment was made humorously and Inigo and Owain seemed to find it amusing, but Severa felt hurt by it. She knew Robin was trying to dampen the shock of missing twenty years, but all it did was bring it more into focus for her.

"Father was fulfilling his role as a Chosen One and vanquishing the demon dragons of this dimension!" Ophelia said excitedly.

Robin's expression changed at the word dragon, and Severa braced herself for what was to come. Chrom moved to cut Robin off before he could begin. "Robin, I'm sure that one's dead too—"

Chrom was cut off as Robin seized the front of Chrom's collar, pulling the Exalt closer. "But Chrom, if they had one and we had one, then that means there are _more_! I don't have a plan for this! We're completely unprepared and that means it's all my fault! I have to fix this!"

"Robin, I'm—hey! ROBIN BRING FALCHION BACK!" Chrom shouted. "WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS!" The tactician had taken Falchion from Chrom and was running in the direction of the war room, probably to lock himself in for several days while he worked.

Severa's pain in her stomach was briefly quenched by the embarrassment of Ylisse's head tactician. Some things had definitely not changed. It seemed Robin would be set off by the word dragon for the rest of his life.

"I should probably stop him before he sets the castle into an uproar again," Lucina said. She smiled briefly at Inigo. "I'm glad you're back, brother. All of you." Then the other bearer of Falchion went running after her husband. Not for the first time, Severa wondered what Lucina saw in the man. At least they were both happy.

Owain found the whole thing hilarious, as did Inigo. They both broke out into laughter, and eventually Chrom joined them. "Robin's not usually that stressed. He just has bad memories regarding dragons," Chrom said. Severa didn't exactly blame Robin for that. She knew how terrifying Grima had been, and at least neither he nor Anankos had been in her head.

Before long Lissa joined the welcoming party. She had grown, too, and was nearly as tall as Owain. It was another strangely familiar sight as the princess cried over the return of her son. Before long, she and Camilla were already fast friends. Severa made a note to avoid them for a while.

But as the conversation developed, the pit in Severa's stomach returned. She tried to quietly leave, but she was caught by the younger version of Lucina—Lucille.

"You're, um, you're Dame Cordelia's daughter, right?" Lucille said timidly. It was confusing Severa's senses to see someone so similar in appearance to Lucina sound so uncertain and shy. "D-did you want to know where they live?"

DISPLACEMENT

That was how Severa found herself trudging up the path to her parent's home. With each step her legs felt heavier and the knot in her stomach twisted further. She felt wrong. She shouldn't be here.

What was the actual version of her like? Would the younger Severa be as much of a pain as Severa herself was? Or was Severa just broken because of Grima? Would her parents even care anymore? Twenty years was a long time and they had their own version of Severa now.

Severa felt herself blink something away as she stood in front of the door. She raised her hand tentatively to reach for the handle, then to knock. But either way she couldn't bring herself to do it. Severa knew she wasn't good enough. She hadn't gotten less competitive, she couldn't stop snapping at people, and she still couldn't sharpen a damn sword.

She didn't belong to a mother as perfect as hers.

Blinking something away again, Severa turned away from the door and crashed into somebody. Hurting from the knowledge of everything she knew being taken away, Severa snapped out without thinking. "Ugh! Watch where you're going!" she said.

Then she looked at whom she had collided with and her heart stopped painfully.

Before her was a younger version of herself, only four or so years younger. It was like looking at a portrait of herself from the campaign against Grima. The younger version of herself even wore her hair the same way and had the same color as Severa did now. Severa felt dread return to hurt her, combined with fear.

The younger girl seemed to have none of that. She looked up to Severa with an expression of anticipation. "I'm Selena. You, you have to be Severa!" she said.

The irony was so great that Severa nearly laughed. Instead, fighting back tears, Severa scowled. "Gee, great job figuring that one out," she hissed. Severa instantly regretted it. "Sorry."

She braced herself for the rebuttal, but there was none. "It's all right," Selena said. "I'm not mad."

That hurt Severa worse than if the younger version of her had snapped at her. The real version of her. _Selena_ was _perfect_. She was the ideal daughter that Severa never was. Severa shriveled up inside when she realized Selena was wearing Pegasus knight armor.

It was just unfair. Severa had tried as hard as she can, giving up her personal peace to save a land she had never visited before. Instead she was being assaulted with everything she wanted tossed in her face. She was jealous, and Severa was disgusted with herself for feeling that way.

It was too much for Severa to deal with and she shoved past Selena. Where she would go, Severa didn't know. But anywhere was better than here and facing the image she could never be.

But Selena reached out and grabbed hold of Severa's arm, preventing her from leaving. "Gods, just let go!" Severa growled. She almost reached to strike Selena away from her. But she couldn't. This was who Severa had been meant to be her entire life, and it would have been like Lucina striking her father. This was the incarnation of her dream pulling her around and Severa was subject to her.

"Nope," Selena said. "I don't know what's wrong, but I know who can fix it." And like that, Selena dragged Severa inside the house.

Severa didn't know the layout of the house as Selena led her through. Eventually, Selena let Severa go and pushed her into a room. Severa's breath hitched once she took in her surroundings.

Her mother was sitting at a small desk writing a letter. Cordelia had looked up at the sound of footsteps and gasped when she saw Severa, dropping her quill. Selena left as quietly as she had arrived, leaving the two of them alone.

For Severa, she was painfully aware of how much older her mother was. How much time she wouldn't get to spend with her now. And she knew why Chrom and Lissa had been familiar even though they were older.

They were at the age they had been when Grima had killed them in the future.

It was too much for Severa to bear, and she broke down. Tears flooded down her cheeks as the dam broke. Severa had only just started to register she was crying before Cordelia had wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly. Severa returned the embrace, too emotionally beaten down to resist.

"Oh Severa," Cordelia said, squeezing her gently. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," Severa said through sobs. "But now you're older and you have a real daughter you don't need me she's so much better than I ever was—"

"Severa," Cordelia said quietly, cutting off her daughter's slew of self-depreciation. "It doesn't matter to me how many children I have. You will always be one of them, and you will always be welcome here."

The quiet reassurance made the tears flow harder as Severa squeezed her mother tightly. Cordelia held onto her daughter, refusing to let go of her as Severa's sobs slowly came to an end.

"Now I've ruined your blouse," Severa said, sniffing a little as her tears dried up. Cordelia laughed soothingly. Severa forgot how much she missed her mother's laugh.

"No you haven't. You've given me the gift of holding you again," Cordelia said. "I'm so glad you're home. I don't think I'll let you leave this time."

"Never," Severa agreed, hugging her mother tighter. But even as she was being comforted, Severa couldn't help but wonder if she was stealing Cordelia from Selena.

But like always, Cordelia seemed to read her mind. "You know, your sister asks me about you every day. She even wears her hair like you because she wants to be as brave as her older sister," Cordelia said.

Severa felt dread. What if Selena didn't think she lived up to whatever stories Cordelia had told? She let go of her mother and glanced around to see Selena standing there. Severa initially felt shame at having been caught vulnerable. She wanted to snap at someone for not mentioning Selena was there.

Before she could, she caught sight of Selena's feet. They were wearing holes into the flood as she shuffled in place. Looking up at her face, Severa saw the same expressions she felt. Fear. Dread.

Selena nearly lost her balance as Severa threw herself at her sister, catching her in an embrace. Selena returned the embrace gratefully, and Cordelia joined them. The dread in Severa's stomach vanished. This was what she had been missing for three years. _Her_ family, new sister and all. Or at least most of them. Where was—

Then the door flew open and the sound of dozens of crows outside filled the air. A madly grinning Henry all but flew into the door and locked his eyes on them. "Hooray! Severa's home!" he whooped, and dived at them, wrapping his arms around all of them.

Severa adjusted her embrace to include her father. Now, she had her entire family.


End file.
